Living By The Spirit

January 31, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Life by the Spirit is a life that is conscious of our impact on others. It is not always looking inward and seeking to satisfy the self. It is a balanced life, aware of the present more then the past or future. It is a life that strives to put Christ in the center of everything…it is not easy to achieve in a dark and broken world nor are we able to do this alone. I pray we seek a life that is led by the Spirit. Amen.

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“The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

Galatians 5:14-15

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 while hiking in Wisconsin near Lake Superior)

Change

January 28, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Life is not about what the world and other people are doing to us, it is about what are we doing to be a light, to encourage others, to be helpful and supportive, what are we doing to be different? Micah Tyler released a song last fall…he introduces the story behind the song in the video I am sharing today about change and being different.

Different by Micah Tyler

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“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Psalms 51:10

(This photo was taken in December of 2013 on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)

How We Connect

January 6, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

People and relationships, these are two important elements in seeking and finding peace and joy in life. The world says that money and comfort/convenience is what you need to be happy. Focusing on others feeds our spiritual life and focusing on the self only feeds the self. As with everything in life it is our choice. God is pretty clear about the value of free will. He is not interested in having a people that just do things at His command. We are responsible for our behavior and the way we treat each other. The best place to start is with our relationship with Jesus Christ…begin, continue or renew your relationship with our Lord and Savior and will find peace. Amen.

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Colossians 3:12-13

(This photo was taken in December of 2018 on Paradise Island, Bahamas)

God Came Down

December 29, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The coming of Jesus Christ, to be born as a baby here on earth was miraculous for many reasons. The most difficult part to comprehend is that God, the Creator of the world, the beginning and the end of all things, loves us so much that He took the form of one of us, to save us from our sinful ways. When we read in the bible about the people of God in the Old Testament, it seems like the people and God go back and forth. The people are suffering, God does something to help them, win a battle, defeat an enemy, free them from slavery and the people are thankful and grow closer to God…and then time goes by and they wander off again. The cycle repeats itself several times…much like many of us in our faith journey. In the New Testament, God changes the cycle and does something that has changed the relationship we have with Him forever. God came down from heaven and became like us in order to reconcile us to Him…think about that for awhile…the Almighty God, Creator of all things came down from heaven to become one of us because He loves us. As we think about the past year and the year to come, I pray we reflect on God’s love and the amazing things He has done for us. Amen.

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“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:5

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

A New Self

December 4, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

There are many factors that play into how we think and behave in our everyday life. Past experiences, our personal expectations and our routines all have a significant impact on us. It is so easy to slip into a way of thinking, believing and living until we realize we aren’t really living we are just existing and going through the motions. If we want to see things differently then we must be willing to change something in ourselves. Change is difficult and uncomfortable, yet we must remember we are not alone. God is with us and He will guide us through our efforts to change. May we seek the will for God for our lives and be open changing our attitudes and perspective in developing a new self. Amen.

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“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self…”

Ephesians 4:22-24

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Glacier National Park in Montana)

Thanksgiving

November 22, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

What are you thankful for? Think about the last week of your life, the last month, the last 12 months. Where were you or what was going on last Thanksgiving? Are you able to be with or spend the day with the same people you have for many years or have some gone home to the Lord? Thinking about the events and people in your life…who or what are you most thankful for? How you view this day and your life in general is driven by your attitude. If you want to be more thankful or have a more positive outlook on a daily basis, start each day with time for gratitude for what is good and what you are grateful and thankful for in your life. We can all start with prayer and thanking God for the sacrifice of His Son to save us. Happy Thanksgiving Day to you. May we all experience the peace, love and joy of being thankful. Amen.

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“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 by our daughter while on a family road trip near Dillon, Colorado)

Living In The Light

November 4, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Choose to be optimistic…choose to have gratitude…be thankful…appreciate all that you have been blessed with each day. Some days you may feel like there is not much to be thankful for, yet I encourage you to seek something to have gratitude about receiving or having available. The more you practice gratitude and thankfulness the easier it gets. The world is full of good things and good people…we have to want to see them. This is about changing our perspective and our attitude, not about the world and others changing things to fit our wants and desires. May we be filled with the light of Christ in our everyday interactions. Amen.

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“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Ephesians 4:29

(This photo was taken in June of 2018 near the border of South Dakota and Minnesota)

Gratitude

September 30, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

A key element in shaping our perspective is gratitude. Being thankful, looking around at your life and recognizing the ways God has blessed you. We must be careful not to judge a blessing based on the world’s view of us or our life. God has promised to give us what we need, not fulfill all our wants and not to give us everything that will make us feel better compared to someone else. We are each unique, created out of love and blessed to be a blessing. We have already received the greatest gift we could ever receive from Jesus Christ, it is up to us to turn towards Him and give Him thanks. May the peace and joy of the Lord be with you.

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“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in you hearts to God.”

Colossians 3:15-16

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado)

Give Thanks

August 23, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Grateful…to show appreciation…gratitude…content with what you have…to recognize others. It is important to pause and to give thanks for what is good, for what we have been given or for what someone else has done for our benefit. It is a choice of attitude to be thankful instead of feeling you deserve somethings or demand and expect things. Choosing an attitude of gratitude focuses our thoughts the positive, the good and helps to drive a feeling of greater appreciation for something or someone. Take a moment to look around you and around your life…who needs to know you appreciate them, who are you thankful for in your life. Tell them, and remember Jesus Christ and what He did for you so that you could be reconciled with God…and tell Him how thankful you are for what He did and is doing. May the Word of the Lord be planted in you.

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“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 in southern New Mexico)

Gratitude

August 2, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

I am thankful for God’s amazing grace. I am grateful for His love. Each morning when I get up I look forward to time with Jesus, my morning readings and bible verses. I have a devotional bible that provides a writing from the perspective of a follower of Jesus and it provides bible verses as a reference for each day. I began this practice over 8 years ago and every year I learn new things about myself and my relationships. As long as we are here God is still working on us and when He believes we are ready He will call us home. No one knows when that will be for anyone and everyone is working through some kind of battle or struggle. Just because we don’t see it in them does not mean they aren’t struggling or fighting through something. Give thanks to God for your life and seek His will for how to best use your gifts. May God’s mercy and love be with you.

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